As I was enjoying Independence Day under the clear skies of Lake Martin, I couldn't help but wonder if former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville was in the area, enjoying the same fireworks with his family.

As far as I know, Tuberville has not yet sold his Lake Martin home (and the price has been reduced, if you're interested), so I suppose it's possible he could be in town.

In any case, Tuberville has been in the news recently for undiplomatic (if entirely honest) comments about the future of the Big 12 (or whatever it's going to be called in the future).

Tuberville, now head coach at Texas Tech, essentially stated the obvious: The Big 12 probably isn't sustainable as a 10-team model, and the disparity between the haves and have-nots in the league was unworkable.

Photo courtesy of the Lubbock Avalanche-JournalFormer Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville was hired in January at Texas Tech (Photo courtesy of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal).

But some were surprised that Tuberville, rather than passionately support the survival of the Big 12 (which would seem to be in Tech's best interest), is taking the opposite tack.

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe even went so far as to reprimand Tuberville, a move that seems especially thin-skinned.

Of course, those of us who covered Tuberville know he is prone to say different things at different times to different audiences. The conference issue may have just happened to be on his mind at the time he did this particular radio interview.

Beebe's statement said Tuberville had fully renounced his views, which seems unlikely. Tuberville, on vacation, had no comment.

There's one more piece of curious news on the Tuberville front. You'll remember that Tuberville's predecessor, Mike Leach, was fired amid allegations that he mistreated a player.

A Texas Tech spokesman confirmed to me this weekend that Tech had hired former Auburn trainer Arnold Gamber to be its head football trainer.

Former Auburn lineman Chaz Ramsey has publicly accused Gamber of mistreatment and has sued him pain and suffering.